The process of quilting involves the use of a somewhat small needle to pull thread through the quilt which is ordinarily held on the quilter's lap in a horizontal position. The needle is inserted into the material with one hand and is pushed through the material with the use of a thimble.
A known thimble is a cap-like object having a hollow portion for inserting the tip of the sewer's finger. The outer surface of the thimble is roughened to facilitate its securely engaging the head of a sewing needle. This thimble is quite inconvenient since it rubs against adjacent fingers which causes injury for a frequent sewer. Furthermore, a sewer must have a short fingernail on the finger to be used with the prior art thimble, otherwise the thimble will not fit properly on the end of the finger. Also, the prior thimble must be provided in various sizes to properly fit fingers of different sewers.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,082,542 (Manson) discloses a thimble for a leather worker. This thimble is attached to a leather strap which is secured to a user's hand so that the portion of the thimble which engages a needle is located in the palm of the hand. This allows the sewer to push the needle through very heavy material, such as leather, by engaging the thimble with the head of the needle and pushing. The Manson thimble is not useful for general sewing, which requires a high degree of control of the needle, since it is extremely difficult to push the needle through material in any direction except directly away from the worker.